In this episode of the Hopecast, Dr. Goodall is joined by Ashley Sullivan, Associate Director of Communications & Policy at the Jane Goodall Institute USA, as they hear from Hopecasters from around the world. Jane and Ashley listen to energizing messages about how Jane’s lifetime of work has inspired Hopecasters to work hard for their own communities and continue in her footsteps. Nina from Philadelphia shares a tearful message of gratitude, thanking Jane for inspiring her so profoundly and motivating her to lead a life of impact. Animal nutrition and wildlife conservation student Nevan, living in Florida, writes in to ask Dr. Goodall’s advice on organizing his own conservation foundation, looking at the immense success and impact of the Jane Goodall Institute. 16-year-old Roots & Shoots member, Alicia, also writes in from New Zealand to share what brings her her greatest hope: animals. Alicia speaks to animals’ “special talent” of bringing people together and how she believes they are what’s going to get us through these dark times. This is a belief also held by Jane, who talks about how people have been connecting to other animals, especially their pets for their love and companionship, during the pandemic. Ashley points out the poignancy of how prevalent the theme of non-human animals was to this particular mailbag as it was Jane’s stories about chimpanzees and her own connection to other animals that inspires generations to take action and also, most essentially, hold onto hope.

Hey Hopecasters! Submit your own questions and comments for a chance to be included in a future Mailbag episode here.

In this episode of the Hopecast, Dr. Jane Goodall speaks with Alice Macharia, the vice president of JGI USA’s Africa Programs. Alice joined the Jane Goodall Institute in 2004 as a project coordinator for East Africa Programs, and has since served as both JGI USA’s Africa Programs Director and now Vice President. Alice’s investment in supporting and working with people to increase beneficial conservation and sustainable development outcomes has created generations of positive growth for people, wildlife, and ecosystems across vital program areas. In this conversation, Jane and Alice talk about the evolution and success they’ve both seen through the use of JGI’s innovative ‘Tacare’ community-led conservation approach. Though this is something now “buzzy” in the NGO landscape, Jane began this effort nearly 30 years ago when she realized that protection of endangered chimpanzees around Gombe would fail without the partnership of local people who were struggling with poverty and inequities. The resulting approach tackles conservation threats by using advanced science, training, and funding to collaborate with communities and understand their needs. These efforts facilitate solutions like land-use planning, forest restoration and protection, sustainable livelihoods, healthcare, education, and more. This adaptive and unique approach is now being scaled in new and wonderful ways in countries across the chimpanzee range including Uganda, DRC, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Mali, Burundi, Cameroon, Gabon, Guinea, Liberia, and Tanzania - where it all began. Alice also discusses her passion for empowering young women and girls - central to JGI’s work - and how it’s delivering on making their aspirations more attainable every day through scholarships, training, and more. Jane and Alice explain that the interconnectedness of individuals, communities, and ecosystems must be considered and addressed in order to create a harmonious path forward for all. As they share, this holistic mindfulness of community-led conservation, “enables people to take control of their environment, of their lives.”

At the End of the Rainbow: Stay to the end of the episode to hear an archival clip of Dr. Goodall speak about the urgency of acting together to fight climate change and how JGI’s community-led Tacare program has strengthened the resilience of both the environment and the indomitable human spirit.

In this episode of the Hopecast, Dr. Jane Goodall is joined by Dr. Evan Antin, an exotic animal and wildlife veterinarian at Conejo Valley Vet Hospital and animal advocate. His passion for animals and educational posts have amassed him over 1 million followers on Instagram. He also works with the Jane Goodall Institute to raise awareness around the need to stop harmful animal selfies on social media, through JGI’s ForeverWild campaign. Growing up in Kansas, he was always fascinated with wildlife and the local ecosystems that existed in the creek in his backyard. Jane and Evan discuss how their inexplicable immediate love for animals as children impacted their chosen paths in life and their dedication to educating people to protect them, as individuals and as species. Dr. Antin speaks about how inspired he is by Dr. Goodall’s new book, The Book of Hope, and how the messages in the book are exactly what the world needs right now. Evan asks Jane about what she has learned from spending so much time alone in nature and Jane shares her spiritual belief that there is “intelligence behind the universe.” Together, they discuss what they’ve learned from their time spent with wild and domesticated animals and how it has changed their outlook on the world. Jane describes how she sees her role in life and in her lifelong career, a sentiment shared by Dr. Antin: “A naturalist is driven by awe and wonder and a deep desire to find out the truth.”

At the End of the Rainbow: Stay to the end of the episode to hear an archival clip of Dr. Jane Goodall speaking about how much the scientific community can learn from observing the interactions, emotions, and resourcefulness of chimpanzees in the wild.

In this episode of the Hopecast, Dr. Jane Goodall is joined by Christiana Figueres, a globally recognized leader on international climate action. She was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2010-2016, and played a major role in the formation of the landmark climate agreement known as the Paris Accord in 2015. Today, she is the co-founder of Global Optimism, co-host of the podcast “Outrage & Optimism” and is the co-author of the recently published book, “The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis." As the world has its eyes on COP26, Christiana and Jane’s conversation offers a look at how individual action, such as small acts of kindness toward one animal species, blossoms into the collective action we need. When Christiana was 10 years old, she took a trip with her parents to the beautiful Monteverde Rainforest in her home country, Costa Rica. There, she encountered a magnificent golden toad that forever tethered her to the natural world. Once she became a mother, Christiana felt it was critical for her daughter’s to develop that same connection. When she took her daughters to that same rainforest, she was pained to discover that the golden toad that was endemic to that rainforest and was the catalyst to her deep love of nature had gone extinct likely due to the Climate Crisis. This experience, among many others, influenced Christiana’s decision to dedicate her life to addressing this existential issue. Christiana and Jane discuss how cultivating a connection to the natural world at a young age is critically important so that once folks become young adults and older adults, they remember the beauty and magic that we must systematically fight to protect every day. Listen to this hopeful conversation about how to turn awe and inspiration from nature into local and impactful action.

At the End of the Rainbow: Stay to the end of the episode to hear a clip of Jane speaking as the UN Messenger of Peace at the Earth to Paris summit in Paris, France in 2015 about how making small, individual changes can have a big, collective impact.

In this episode of the Hopecast, Dr. Goodall is joined by her grandson, Merlin van Lawick, as they hear from Hopecasters from around the world. Jane and Merlin listen to powerful messages about Hopecasters' desire and mission to protect nature and wildlife, asking Jane how they can help, and how Jane continually inspires them. Jesica, from Colombia, now living in Sweden, reflects on how the Hopecast gives her hope in her pursuit of her PhD as she works to protect and defend the Amazon Rainforest. Jodi in Queensland, Australia, shares her efforts to move away from hierarchical thinking and embrace diversity in thought in order to solve environmental crises. Tina, living in Canada, asks Jane what she can do to make a difference as a young person. Jane and Merlin reflect on the power of sharing stories in influencing change, and the incredible momentum and drive of young change-makers, particularly in JGI’s youth program Roots & Shoots. One young Hopecaster from Indiana thanks Jane for connecting her to the natural world and igniting her passion for helping animals at just 12 years old, telling Dr. Goodall: “you showed me that animals have a voice that needs to be heard.”

Hey Hopecasters! Submit your own questions and comments for a chance to be included in a future Mailbag episode here.

In this episode of the Hopecast, Dr. Jane Goodall is joined by Rhett Butler, an award winning journalist and the founder and CEO of Mongabay, a nonprofit environmental media organization. Rhett and Jane’s conversation offers a look at how news outlets can inform the public of the detrimental effects of climate change and environmental destruction while also highlighting the many positive stories of effective action and change. When Rhett was 17, he went to Malaysian Borneo and had a magical encounter with a wild male orangutan in the rainforest, when the orangutan stood within 30 feet of him and paused for a few moments to look at him. Rhett came back home to California and kept in correspondence with the scientists there. Several months later, Rhett found out that that same forest he had that surreal experience in was pulped to make paper, and became an oil palm plantation. This experience, among many others, pushed Rhett to take action to spread awareness. What was once meant to be a book became what is now known as Mongabay. Rhett and Jane discuss how news outlets, journalists, and whistleblowers can hold corporations accountable and encourage individuals, as well as policy action to ultimately protect our one and only home. Rhett shares stories that Mongabay has covered that keep the public informed, center indigenous and local communities, provide success stories, and have even prevented further devastation from occurring. Listen to this hopeful conversation about how sharing knowledge with storytelling can create positive change for humans, wildlife, and the environment.

At the End of the Rainbow: Stay to the end of the episode to hear a clip of Jane speaking about how a different future awaits us, one where rainforests are prioritized and protected, and how we can be a part of creating that future.

In this episode of the Hopecast, Dr. Jane Goodall is joined by Lisa Jackson, the vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives at Apple. Lisa and Jane’s conversation offers a look at how businesses can, in fact, be innovators and leaders in sustainability, as well as environmental justice and action. Before Lisa became a leader in this space, she was set on becoming a doctor, pivoting after to engineering. Upon better understanding of the impacts of pollution and the degradation of the environment on human health, she combined her interests to apply them in positions as fundamental as head of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama Administration. Lisa and Jane discuss how positive environmental impact can be made in any industry, by every individual, and how change happens from people speaking up in their respective companies and locally. Lisa additionally explains how she is working to make Apple’s entire supply chain carbon neutral by 2030, and how though there is a long way to go, that a tremendous amount of progress has been made. Jane, who often reaches across industries to support positive actions like that of Apple, explains why it is critically important that one of the largest corporations in the world is taking positive steps forward, creating ripple effects around the globe. Listen to this inspiring conversation about how both Lisa and Jane turn their hope into action, from the tech world to community-led conservation and beyond.

At the End of the Rainbow: Stay to the end of the episode to hear a clip of Jane speaking about why recycling our cell phones, and reducing our consumption, is important in order to reduce harm to ecosystems, wildlife, and human communities.

In the very special premiere episode of the Hopecast’s second season, Dr. Jane Goodall is joined by Dan Springer, CEO of DocuSign and sustainability thought leader extraordinaire. Dan and Jane’s discussion offers a unique perspective about what big tech companies should do in the fight to make this world a better place through investing in conservation, helping employees get engaged with volunteering, and finding tangible ways to address inequality. Docusign represents these efforts by saving millions of trees and eliminating the use of billions of sheets of paper. Their DocuSign for Forests initiative has also committed over $2.5 million to organizations doing critical work to preserve the world’s forests. During the episode, Dan and Jane discuss the importance of standing together at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and how Jane has often used this approach which reaches across industries and perspectives to make a bigger difference, together. Dan has become a tremendous partner to Jane and JGI, and also even went on to create a Roots & Shoots group, as part of Jane’s youth program Roots & Shoots, at DocuSign thanks to Jane’s “amazing persuasion skills.” Dan and Jane talk about maintaining hope through trying times and the essential increasing levels of recognition and action in the face of injustices. Listen to Dan and Jane’s incredible and illuminating conversation to learn more about the responsibility and opportunity for businesses to take action by connecting the heart and mind to drive positive environmental impact. 

BONUS: Check out even more from Dr. Goodall and Dan’s purposeful pairing here.  

At the End of the Rainbow: Stay to the end of the episode to hear a clip of Jane speaking about why her philosophy to “think locally, act locally” is so crucial to making the world a better place.

In December of 2020, Dr. Jane Goodall introduced the first season of the Hopecast amidst one of the worst pandemics in our time. Finding herself no longer able to safely share her message of hope by traveling the world as she’d done for the better part of 40 years, the world-renowned activist didn’t let that stop her. She reinvented herself as Virtual Jane, and without ever leaving her childhood home in Bournemouth, England, recorded intimate conversations with humans who have dedicated their lives to helping people, animals, and the planet. Soon, what started as a way for Jane to maintain the important connections she cherishes so deeply turned into a global movement. Since the show’s launch, Hopecasters from 131 countries have tuned in to hear her speak with extraordinary people such as Dave Matthews, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, and Craig Foster. Jane also experienced the ability to connect with people meaningfully through our mailbag episodes, in which she responds to thoughtful submissions from Hopecasters all over the world. Nearly a year later, we're still struggling with the pandemic, and we still need hope. In this second season, Jane returns to continue building a supportive community that can turn hope into action to build a better world. In anticipation for this next collection of conversations, listen to the trailer to hear Jane’s inspiring voice and some of the most exciting clips from season 1.

For this Mailbag episode and our final episode of the season, Dr. Goodall is joined by Hopecaster and Executive Director of the Jane Goodall Institute, USA, Anna Rathmann, as they hear from Hopecasters from around the world to close out the first season of The Jane Goodall Hopecast. Jane and Anna listen to powerful messages about what being part of the natural world means to Hopecasters, and how they take action to protect our shared planet. To Mimi from Myanmar, living on Earth means “family.” To Dr. Kulkarni, a biologist at Harvard University, living on Earth means “ours,” as in something that is shared. Anna and Jane reflect on how different countries and people the Hopecast has been able to reach and how Jane has continued to inspire younger generations to take on climate change and animal advocacy. One young Hopecaster from Spain encapsulates what the Hopecast has meant to her and how Jane’s words have encouraged her to become an activist at just 13 years old, telling Dr. Goodall: “You're more than an inspiration. You're the voice of hope.”

Stay to the end of the episode for an exciting announcement from Jane and Anna.

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